


Because

by Welfycat



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: stargateland, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-15
Updated: 2011-06-15
Packaged: 2017-10-20 10:32:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/211838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Welfycat/pseuds/Welfycat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All John really wants to do is sleep, but fortunately for him David Parrish comes to the rescue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Because

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Off-the-Clock challenge at StargateLand.  
> Content Notes: None.

John sunk down onto his bed, too tired to lean down and untie his boots, too tired to even think about how much more comfortable he'd be if he stood up long enough to undress or even shower before he went to sleep. As it was, his plan was to lay down and shut his eyes and not wake up for maybe the entire 48 hours he had off. Sure, it would be nice to actually do something in his 'down time', but the only thing he wanted to do in that moment was sleep.

Somehow, that always seemed to be the way it worked. Whenever he had a day or two off, though usually it was only a day, if that, before some emergency cropped up, he and the rest of his team were usually too worn out or too injured to do anything that could be considered fun. Really, it was a good thing that they all basically lived for their jobs because they'd be pretty miserable otherwise.

He thought about his boots again, because surely his feet would feel better if he could untie the laces and pull them off, but he didn't think he had enough coordination left in his fingers to manage it. He leaned sideways against the wall, his eyes slipping closed as he pondered velcro straps on their boots instead of laces. Those would be easier to manage, though the velcro wouldn't be nearly as useful off-world as the laces had proven to be on more than one occasion.

It was later when his eyes slipped open just barely and he licked at his parched lips as he tried to figure out what had woken him other than the unbelievable crick in his neck from sleeping resting against the wall. At least he'd actually made it to his bed this time, even if he hadn't managed to lay down on it. The strange sensation that had woken him happened again and John's eyes opened a little further to find that his boot was being untied and eased from his foot. He blinked a few times and managed to focus on the form of the botanist who was obviously trying to be as quiet and gentle as possible.

"David, what are you doing here?" John asked as he pushed himself up and raised his left foot so his boot was easier to remove.

"Well, I figured that I was due a day or two off, so I asked the head of the botany department. And he's a really weird guy, that Doctor Parrish, and then I remembered; oh wait, that's me. So I put myself down on the schedule for a weekend that surprisingly just happened to coincide with your days off," David looked up with an impish grin.

It took John a minute before he actually managed to follow what David had said. "One day, someone is going to notice that your schedule frequently seems to coincide with mine."

David shrugged and stood up. "Maybe. But I have an in with the military guy in charge around here. He's a pretty laid back guy, funny hair, likes to lean against things - even in his sleep, apparently. Maybe you've seen him around?"

John shook his head, unable to stop his smile despite himself, and managed to drag himself into the bathroom to wash his face and try to wake up at least a little bit. If David could drag himself out at - John checked his watch - nearly two in the morning after working a full shift, the least John could do is be awake to spend a little bit of time with him.

When he made it back into the main room he found the blankets on the bed pulled back and the pillows arranged invitingly and John had to remind himself that he couldn't go straight back to sleep. David was sitting at the small table, two cups sitting out with steam rising from the surface. John made it to the chair waiting for him and scooped up the cup, amazed that David had actually brought him coffee when he usually gave him a death glare whenever John drank it past midnight.

"What is this?" John asked, reacting to the drink not being what he expected more than an actual dislike of the taste. It was slightly sweet but with a very light consistency. Not coffee, nor tea, but something else entirely.

"Well, I've been milking the sap from a particular grove of small trees that I've set up in greenhouse three," David started, waving one of his hands rapidly when John's eyes widened dramatically. "And relax already, I wouldn't have even tried it if Carson hadn't already cleared it and if the native population on P3X-847 didn't absolutely swear by it."

"David Parrish, did you just drug me?" John asked, looking down at his cup in suspicion and more than a little panic as he tried to figure how much damage a single sip could possibly do. From what he'd seen on various planets, even though he couldn't recall where P3X-whatever even was, a single sip of something could do plenty.

"John Sheppard," David replied, sounding a little bit peeved. "I'm going to choose to not be offended right now and put that up to you being too tired to even know what you're suggesting."

John looked down at his cup, shrugged, and took another sip. Maybe this whole thing was just some kind of bizarre hallucination driven by sleep deprivation, or maybe David was just being nice to him and had brought him some kind of plant sap to make him happy. Stranger things than either of those options had happened, pretty much on a daily basis. And, the plant sap concoction actually wasn't bad at all now that he wasn't expecting it to taste like coffee. "Good idea," he said, drinking deeply in hopes of being forgiven.

David nodded and smiled, drinking from his own cup. "According to the Rilonians, Prytra sap is excellent for relaxation and helping to reduce stress. Subjects from Carson's test group have reported very positive results."

John nodded again as he finished the drink and tried to decide if he felt more relaxed or not. It could just be a placebo effect, or that he always found himself relaxing and feeling more at ease when David was in the room, but he did feel a little more comfortable. More like he was just sleepy and less like he was about to fall on his face from exhaustion. "You're in your pajamas," he said suddenly, _really_ seeing David for the first time.

"Yes I am. I've always thought I looked very nice in green. Yours are right over there," David pointed to where a set of John's sleepwear was neatly laid out on top of his desk and continued to contently sip his drink.

John set the cup down and walked over to them, trying to remember the last time that he did more than shrug out of his jacket and kick off his pants before he got into bed. Most of the time he wound up sleeping in his pants with the belt still fastened. "I'll be just a minute," he said, taking the clothes and disappearing back into the bathroom.

He changed and washed his face again, noticing for the first time exactly how exhausted he looked in the mirror. It had been a long week. And month. And last few years, really.

When he came out, David was standing near the bed, the lights already dimmed. He walked towards the bed and was surprised to find David's arms suddenly wrapped around him. It took him a few moments to process the contact and when he finally did he put his own arms around David. Eventually he lowered his head down to David's shoulder and they stood there in a small pocket of space where time didn't seem to pass.

"Why are you doing this?" John asked, not entirely sure if he'd spoken out loud.

David pressed a kiss to this side of John's face and continued to hold him. "Just because."


End file.
